It is often said that when humans made animals like dogs and horses dependent upon them, they assumed an ethical and moral contract for their care.

Mostly, humans have failed at fulfilling this contract, but to be fair, the situation (at least in North America and Europe) is getting better as more and more people become better informed and educated.

I have no wish to dispute the affection and commitment that mushers profess to have for their animals. There is no one-size-fits-all recipe for looking after animals.

But I cannot accept the morality of using animals in races, such as the sled dog ones, because the commitment of the musher to care for his dogs is very likely to come in direct conflict with his desire to win the competition.

If the musher can just push his dogs a little bit more, and get them to go slightly faster, harder, or longer, he stands a better chance of winning. The dogs, of course, can’t tell their master that they are injured or in pain. So if they pull a muscle and have to keep going, the pull could rapidly develop into a more serious injury. (And I don’t even want to think about what happens to a lame sled dog.)

Now here is where I am on shaky ground. It has been said by a proponent of the race that you cannot force a husky to run. Since I don’t know the truth of that statement, I will take it as fact. An injured husky attempting to stop, however, would seem to be more problematic for the dogs. Since each dog is attached to several other dogs that are all running at full speed, how is a dog going to stop? If he tries to slow down, it would seem that the momentum of the others and the urgent cries of the musher to continue would tend to drag the dog along and possibly cause an accident. If someone can explain how an injured husky can stop running, I will be grateful.

One thing I do know is that most animals have a built-in tendency to avoid showing other animals, even their pack mates, that they are injured. Animals with obvious injuries are quickly spotted by predators and soon dead. Sled dog injuries, therefore, are going to be hard to spot even by the most perceptive and concerned caregiver.

So despite the best intentions of the musher to care for his dogs, it is the competitive nature of the event, the dogs’ inability to communicate that they are injured or in pain, plus the dogs’ inherent tendency to conceal their injuries anyway, that all combine to create a toxic mix for the dogs’ welfare. It is very likely to be difficult for the musher to both win the race and at the same time provide the best possible care for his dogs. And what is the point of participating in a race if you don’t try your very best to win?

This is why I cannot accept sled dog racing (or the use of animals in any other human-directed competitive endeavour) as ethical and moral. I would dearly love to be wrong in all of this, but my gut tells me otherwise.